Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi told worshippers at Tehran University Friday that oil and trade embargos have helped Iran reduce reliance on the outside world. His speech was broadcast live on state radio Friday.

Naqdi said a man who runs 100 meters in 20 seconds can finish it in 7 seconds if a wolf is chasing him, and that’s the case for Iran.

Iran is under four sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions and Western oil, banking and trade measures over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The U.S. and its allies charge Iran may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies that, and its leaders have denounced the sanctions.